The number of exceptional young jazz
musicians in Detroit these days is an everyday reminder of how fertile
the soil remains here for nurturing the music. What is especially
rewarding is how many of these players are well on their way to
developing individual voices.

At 27, tenor saxophonist and native
Detroiter De’Sean Jones, who will be celebrating the release of his
debut CD, “Knomadik Reverence” (Detroit Music Factory), on Friday at the
Jazz Cafe, has a sound as broad as the shoulders of his thick frame.
Jones has an unselfconscious way of channeling his influences, which
range from jazz to hip-hop, techno, rock and gospel, into something
personal.

And despite what at first glance might appear to be a
surface eclecticism, the music on “Knomadik Reverence” reads
unmistakably as jazz — improvisatory, interactive and in touch with the
tradition, even when it veers into contemporary vernacular.

Jones
comes by all of his influences honestly. He was mentored by the late
Detroit jazz trumpet legend Marcus Belgrave, and he put in time at
Michigan State University with bassist Rodney Whitaker and at the
Oberlin Conservatory. But he’s also a member of the Detroit techno music
collective Underground Resistance, and he has toured with artists as
diverse as Stevie Wonder, the Clark Sisters and Faith Evans.

The
CD features Jones leading a septet of peers with connections to Oberlin
through all-original material, most of it by Jones and filled with lots
of contrasting rhythms, textures and dynamics. The group moves easily
between lean, swinging post-bop passages and dense and slightly raw,
guitar-drenched textures and bass and drum beats that sound like
souped-up hip-hop, R&B and rock grooves. Jones’ solos move from
simmer to boil quickly, but he avoids easy grandstanding and long
soliloquies.

In fact, the music typically eschews
melody-solos-melody structure for more layered compositions and an
ensemble-based aesthetic. The band — which includes trumpeter Aaron
Janik, vibraphonist Chase Jackson, guitarist Conrad Reeves,
keyboardist Shea Pierre, bassist Matthew Adomeit, drummer Austin Vaughn
— lacks the consistency and expressive weight more experienced players
would bring to the table. But to everyone’s credit, the music makes a
statement that’s larger than the sum of the parts.

One additional
caveat: At just more than 36 minutes, the CD is unusually short. While I
typically find most of today’s recordings far too long-winded, here’s
one disc that could have used an additional tune or two. On the plus
side, you can digest the eight concentrated tracks in a single,
fulfilling gulp.

For the CD-release party, Jones will be joined by
Janik on trumpet and Reeves on guitar, along with Ian Finkelstein on
piano, Alex White on drums and the great Bob Hurst on bass.